Businessman, philanthropist and top SU booster Adam Weitsman tells me that he is discussing a combined multi-year, seven-figure name, image and likeness agreement with new Syracuse basketball recruiting target Boogie Fland and his family.
Because these discussions are ongoing, Weitsman declined to provide further specifics, including whether he has offered a NIL deal to the 6-foot-3 Fland, a 2024 five-star point guard who is one of the top high-school prospects in New York state and across the country in his class.
Just in the past week or so, Orange coaches offered a scholarship to Fland, a standout junior at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, N.Y. In grassroots basketball, he competes for the Bronx, N.Y.-based PSA Cardinals in Nike’s EYBL league.
One of the most sought-after 2024 players, Fland has picked up around 30 offers in his recruitment from a range of high-major programs. Besides the ‘Cuse, Alabama recently offered Fland. The Crimson Tide is led by head coach Nate Oats, who was the former boss at Buffalo before heading to the Southeastern Conference.
Besides the Orange and Alabama, Fland’s offer sheet includes North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas, Villanova, UCLA, UConn, Oregon, Indiana, LSU, Auburn, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland, Miami, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s, TCU, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Louisville, Florida and Oklahoma, among others.
All of the primary recruiting services rate him as a five-star prospect in 2024. On a national scale, he is ranked no lower than No. 16 overall by the main recruiting Web sites.
What’s more, when On3 updated its 2024 national rankings for the junior cycle, Fland arrived at No. 5 around the country, No. 1 at point guard and No. 2 in New York.
As we wrote about on Saturday, Adam Weitsman has shared with me that he has signed NIL agreements with eight existing Syracuse Orange players in men’s basketball, women’s basketball and football.
Weitsman is also in the process of completing NIL deals with five additional SU student-athletes. Collectively, these 13 NIL packages total more than $1 million, he says.
Separately, as we discussed in another recent column, as it pertains to NIL, Adam Weitsman is extremely high on 2024 four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City.
The 6-foot-4 Moore, out of Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y., and the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas league on the AAU circuit, recently put Syracuse basketball in his top five and could make a college decision soon.
Whether with current Syracuse Orange student-athletes or high-school prospects, Weitsman says that his NIL opportunities will focus on non-profit, civic and philanthropic efforts in the 315 and 607 area codes, rather than the marketing of his businesses.
Regarding high-school recruits and NIL discussions with them and their families, Adam Weitsman has stressed to me on numerous occasions that he doesn’t bring up Syracuse University or any other college/university, because these sorts of NIL deals can’t be used as a form of inducement (“pay-for-play”) for a high-school player to commit to a specific college or university.
It’s exciting to hear that Weitsman is discussing NIL with Fland. Whichever school ends up landing him will have a game-changing commitment in the 2024 cycle. To me, a critical component here is for the Orange coaching staff to get him on a visit to the Hill at some point in the future.
We’ll continue to talk with Adam Weitsman about his various discussions on NIL agreements with existing Syracuse Orange student-athletes and high-school recruits.